Medical Education 2012: 46: 228-233 Context  Bedside teaching encounters on hospital wards offer medical students opportunities to learn key medical and interpersonal skills. Although many aspects of bedside teaching have been studied, not much is known about the selection process used by medical teachers to find patients for these encounters. ...

Abstract Objective: To describe the clinical experience in the first Veterans Affairs (VA)-U.S. Army Warrior Transition Clinic (WTC) telepsychiatry operation (September 2008-August 2009). Materials: Joint VA and U.S. Army records. Methods: Analysis of intake, follow-up, and last visit records. Results: One hundred twenty active-duty U.S. Army soldiers were seen (394 ...

Finding ways to increase the biosynthesis of medically important microbial secondary metabolites is a challenge of microbial chemical biology. Lechner et al. (in this issue of Chemistry & Biology) show that transcriptional regulation can be manipulated to selectively increase the production of a desired metabolite.

With a focus on multiple stakeholders working together, AORN's "Recommended practices for product selection in perioperative practice settings" provides a source of information to help facilities choose safe and efficient perioperative products, including medical devices and other products used in the perioperative settings.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) is a set of cognitive tests introduced in 2006, taken annually before application to medical school. The UKCAT is a test of aptitude and not acquired knowledge and as such the results give medical schools a standardised and objective tool that ...

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have investigated a combination of two antimuscarinics for adult neurogenic bladder managed with clean intermittent catheterization or pediatric refractory overactive bladder (OAB). We assessed the efficacy and tolerability of this strategy in adults with idiopathic OAB. METHODS: We reviewed 49 patients with idiopathic OAB who received combined ...

This paper is intended as an aid for preparing radioactive material shipments in academic and medical facilities. These facilities may only ship radioactive materials infrequently. As such, ensuring compliance with applicable regulations can be very time consuming. Excepted package shipments (including empty packages) and shipments using Type A packages for ...

Codification of medical policy for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) did not occur until 1977. Policy development was based on NASA's human spaceflight efforts from 1958, and the need to support the operational aspects of the upcoming Space Shuttle Program as well as other future activities. In 1958, ...

Abstract Background: The purpose of this review is to identify and compare nonhormonal medications for the treatment of idiopathic heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) or menorrhagia. Methods: Clinical trials were identified through a PubMed literature search. Titles and abstracts of identified studies were reviewed. Controlled clinical trials that evaluated nonhormonal medications ...

Abstract The National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) believes that in certain select situations, when it is validated to be safe in the peer-reviewed literature, emergency medical services (EMS) providers should be able to determine necessity of transport. This paper is the official position of the NAEMSP. Key words: EMS; ...

Regulatory differences between countries are an important driver of the cross-border trade in assisted reproduction as people move to seek services unavailable in their home countries. The development of a lucrative global trade in non-medical sex selection needs to be considered in ethical debates over its availability. I suggest that ...

Objective This paper describes natural-language-processing techniques for two tasks: identification of medical concepts in clinical text, and classification of assertions, which indicate the existence, absence, or uncertainty of a medical problem. Because so many resources are available for processing clinical texts, there is interest in developing a framework in which ...

Many hospitals have implemented policies to restrict or ban the use of devices made of natural rubber latex (NRL) in healthcare as precautionary measures against the perceived risk of NRL allergy. Changes in glove technology, progress in measuring the specific allergenic potential of gloves and a dramatic decrease in the ...

Background: In 1998, a new selection process which utilised an aptitude test and an interview in addition to previous academic achievement was introduced into an Australian undergraduate medical course. Aims: To test the outcomes of the selection criteria over an 11-year period. Methods: 1174 students who entered the course from ...

AimsCognitive factors (eg, academic achievement) have had a significant role in selecting postgraduate surgical trainees in the past. This project sought to determine the role of a national undergraduate ophthalmology prize examination (Duke-Elder examination) in the selection of postgraduate ophthalmology trainees. This would also serve as a quality assurance exercise ...

Abstract Introduction: Although specimen extraction site selection for laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) is relatively flexible and is mostly selected by surgeons from the patient's standpoint, the patient's request may differ from the medical worker's recommendation. The cosmetic aspect may also differ with age, gender, and the extent of medical knowledge. ...

Background: Although essay questions are used in the admissions process in many medical schools, there has been little research on how applicants respond to essay questions. Aims: The purpose of this study was to explore how applicants to medical school approach essay questions used in the selection process. Methods: Qualitative ...

Although parathyroidectomy (Ptx) for sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism (PH) improves comorbidities and symptoms, routine Ptx for minimally symptomatic PH remains controversial. Whether successful Ptx translates into discontinuation or dose-reduction of prescribed medications is unknown. Consecutive patients undergoing curative Ptx for sporadic PH from January 2007 to April 2009 were compared to ...

The primary goal of radiation management in interventional radiology is to minimize the unnecessary use of radiation. Clinical radiation management minimizes radiation risk to the patient without increasing other risks, such as procedural risks. A number of factors are considered when estimating the likelihood and severity of patient radiation effects. ...

Effective and dynamic recording of radiation exposure and medical diagnostic information for individuals suspected or known to have been exposed to ionizing radiation contributes to appropriate formulation of medical treatment strategies and radiation protection management. The objectives of this article are to report the database entry templates or screens, provide ...

The use of radiation for medical purposes falls under the purview of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and individual states. Enhanced regulations are in place to promote the right exam for the right reason at the right time for every patient exposed to medical x-rays. The February 2010 FDA ...

In order for Canada to be better prepared to respond quickly to a radiological or nuclear emergency detailed knowledge regarding the locations and capacities of hospitals, relevant medical supplies and radiological or nuclear professionals is needed. These key points of information were identified at a CRTI workshop in 2009, and ...

Pediatric interventional radiology procedures are becoming increasingly common in the medical community, in part due to the significant medical benefit derived from these studies. At the same time, the medical radiation used for these studies contributes to the radiation dose to this unique population of patients. As children are more ...

Mentoring in academic medicine has been described on a multitude of levels in medical literature, but seldom with respect to medical students. In fact, although some fields have addressed mentoring in the context of medical student education, radiation oncology has yet to do so in a comprehensive fashion. Furthermore, the ...

Medical isotope production facilities (MIPF) have recently been identified to emit the major part of the environmental radioxenon measured at many globally distributed monitoring sites deployed to strengthen the radionuclide component of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) verification regime. Efforts to raise a global radioxenon emission inventory revealed that the ...

The continuing increase in the worldwide use of X-ray imaging has implications for radiation protection of medical staff. Much of the increased usage could be viewed as simply a workload issue with no particular new challenges. However, advances in technology and developments in techniques have seen an increase in the ...

Radiation exposure of the thyroid at a young age is a recognized risk factor for the development of differentiated thyroid cancer lasting for four decades and probably for a lifetime after exposure. Medical radiation exposure, however, occurs frequently, including among the pediatric population, which is especially sensitive to the effects ...

Medical application of ionizing radiation is a massive and increasing activity globally. While the use of ionizing radiation in medicine brings tremendous benefits to the global population, the associated risks due to stochastic and deterministic effects make it necessary to protect patients from potential harm. Current issues in radiation protection ...

Radiation protection in medicine has unique aspects and is an essential element of medical practice. Medical uses of radiation occur throughout the world, from large cities to rural clinics. It has been estimated that the number of medical procedures using radiation grew from about 1.7 billion in 1980 to almost ...

Scripts can be executed within the radiation treatment planning software framework to reduce human error, increase treatment planning efficiency, reduce confusion, and promote consistency within an institution or even among institutions. Scripting is versatile, and one application is an automatic 3D beam-naming system that describes the position of the beam ...

One of the most common problems associated with radiopharmaceuticals is an unanticipated or altered biodistribution, which can have a significant clinical impact on safety, scan interpretation, and diagnostic imaging accuracy. In their most extreme manifestations, unanticipated imaging results may even compromise the utility and or accuracy of nuclear medicine studies. ...

An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale struck the Niigata-Chuetsu region of Japan at 10:13 on 16 July 2007. The earthquake was followed by the sustained occurrence of numerous aftershocks, delaying the reconstruction of community lifelines. The earthquake affected the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plants (NPPs), the biggest NPP site ...

Mass casualties after radiation exposure pose an enormous logistical challenge for national health services worldwide. Successful medical treatment of radiation victims requires that a plan for medical radiation accident management be established, that the plan be tested in regular exercises, and that it be found to be effective in the ...

Many governmental and non-governmental agencies are involved in the planning for radiation events in the U.S. We will focus on medical management after mass casualty events, specifically the involvement of the Radiation Injury Treatment Network (RITN), a voluntary consortium of medical centers across the continental U.S. RITN and its partners ...

A survey of the Australasian clinical medical physics and biomedical engineering workforce was carried out in 2009 following on from a similar survey in 2006. 621 positions (equivalent to 575 equivalent full time (EFT) positions) were captured by the survey. Of these 330 EFT were in radiation oncology physics, 45 ...

This article presents and discusses new information on the old Hippocratic moto of "...not to harm but to benefit the patient". Some radiation accidents are due to medical errors. Millions of medical tests exposing radiation are performed every day worldwide increasing and sometimes exceeding the annual permissible dose administered to ...

Occupational exposure data of workers due to external sources of radiation in various medical practices such as nuclear medicine (NM), radiotherapy and diagnostic radiology (DR) in Pakistan were collected and analysed. Whole-body doses of workers were measured by film badge dosimetry technique during 2003-2007. Annual average effective dose in NM, ...

PURPOSE: To review the published literature pertaining to radiation oncology in undergraduate medical education. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid MEDLINE Daily Update and EMBASE databases were searched for the 11-year period of January 1, 1998, through the last week of March 2009. A medical librarian used an extensive list ...

The transmission of medical information is currently a daily routine. Medical information needs efficient, robust and secure encryption modes, but cryptography is primarily a computationally intensive process. Towards this direction, we design a selective encryption scheme for critical data transmission. We expand the advandced encrytion stanard (AES)-Rijndael with five criteria: ...

Exposure to psychotropic medications before the onset of bipolar disorder (BD) in children may have profound effects on the course of illness. Both antidepressant and stimulant exposure have been proposed to hasten the course of BD development, whereas mood stabilizers have been proposed as protective. We sought to describe psychotropic ...

A large-scale radiological incident would result in an immediate critical need to assess the radiation doses received by thousands of individuals to allow for prompt triage and appropriate medical treatment. Measuring absorbed doses of ionizing radiation will require a system architecture or a system of platforms that contains diverse, integrated ...

Radiation exposures from accidents, nuclear detonations or terrorist incidents are unlikely to be homogeneous; however, current biodosimetric approaches are developed and validated primarily in whole-body irradiation models. A workshop was held at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in May 2008 to draw attention to the need for partial-body biodosimetry, ...

Few natural disasters or intentional acts of war or terrorism have the potential for such severe impact upon a population and infrastructure as the intentional detonation of a nuclear device within a major U.S. city. In stark contrast to other disasters or even a "dirty bomb," hundreds of thousands will ...

Middle ear myoclonus is one of the causes of clicking tinnitus and can be psychologically distressing. Current management of intractable clicking includes medication or tenotomy. Two cases with spontaneous intrusive irregular clicking are presented where relief and a sense of control were obtained using non-invasive self - administered zygomatic pressure. ...

The concept of peer review for radiation therapists and medical dosimetrists has been studied very little in radiation oncology practice. The purpose of this manuscript is to analyze the concept of peer review in the clinical setting for both radiation therapists and medical dosimetrists. The literature reviewed both the percentages ...

During the last years, several applications of biosurfactants with medical purposes have been reported. Biosurfactants are considered relevant molecules for applications in combating many diseases and as therapeutic agents due to their antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities. Furthermore, their role as anti-adhesive agents against several pathogens illustrate their utility as ...

Significant controversy surrounds the 2012 / 2014 decision announced by the Trustees of the American Board of Radiology (ABR) in October of 2007. According to the ABR, only medical physicists who are graduates of a Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs, Inc. (CAMPEP) accredited academic or residency program ...

The use of industrial-grade gases instead of medical-grade gases for clinical applications increases the risk of introducing undesirable and even toxic contaminants into the clinical environment. Hospitals should have policies in place to ensure that gases of the appropriate type and grade are used for the intended application.

As outlined in NCRP Report No. 160 of the US National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), the average value of the effective dose to exposed individuals in the United States has increased by a factor of 1.7 over the time period 1982-2006, with the contribution of medical exposures ...

The aim of this paper is to assess the activation phenomena and to evaluate the risk of external exposure and intake doses for the maintenance staff of two medical cyclotrons. Two self-shielded cyclotrons are currently operating in the facility for the routine production of (11)C and (18)F. Four radiochemistry laboratories ...